Editorial August 26, 1939 Issue

Spiritual Recognition

Evelyn F. Heywood

THE French word for gratitude—reconnaissance, recognition—serves to remind us of the true function of gratitude, which is the observance and acknowledgment of good. Once it is realized that good is the eternal heritage of man, and that in this scheme there is not and never has been any recognition of evil, gratitude is no longer an occasional and spasmodic expression of thanks for some special benefit; it is in reality a continuing state of consciousness. From then onward, there is revealed an entirely new relationship with God, whereby it is seen that gratitude is the continuous expression or recognition of man's unity with all good. Thus Jesus at the grave of Lazarus expressed his thanks for that which he knew was true and had always been true of God and his relationship with Him, whereby he could prove that life is spiritual, not material, even though all about him appeared the mortal testimony which denied it. "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always."

In that spiritual relationship, in that oneness of Mind and its idea, which Jesus understood and demonstrated, there is no half-hearted acknowledgment, no reluctance to recognize that spiritual knowing, the heritage of man, is equal to every emergency. In his gratitude for the power and presence of immortal Life, Jesus was also cognizant of the fact that "the Son quickeneth whom he will."

The one thing of all others which men require to be aware of is that they hear and are heard of God. Jesus, before the raising of Lazarus, expressed his gratitude for this fact. We may well be grateful, as Christians have been all through the centuries, that they are heard of God. But Christian Scientists have reason to be immeasurably more grateful that, through the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, the law has been revealed to them of scientific knowing, so that they may say, "And I knew that thou hearest me always." As men see that Mind's knowing is man's knowing, they will express in continual gratitude their recognition of spiritual reality.

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